Homegrown BBQ: Char It Hutong-Style

When it comes to grilled meat, we Beijingers tend to take pride in the Xinjiang import, yangrou chuanr. But we discovered recently that there’s a style of grilling that’s even more lao Beijing than that.

We were given a tip to try out a neighborhood spot on Jiaodaokou Beiertiao called Fankou Lao Beijing Kaorou (饭口老北京烤肉). Beijing might be compulsively glitzifying itself, but at its core it’s still a humble city, and that was captured in full by the scene before us. Rickety tables scattered on the steps of the school opposite the restaurant. A woman’s leg in a cast, propped up on a stool as she chopsticked her lamb. “Proprietors” and fuwuyuan camouflaged with their clientele in T-shirts, shorts and rubber bath sandals. This was going to be a down-home experience, and we were going to like it.

Once we sat down, a metal spatula, a bulb of pickled garlic and three glistening slices of fat were slid onto the table. We ordered a plate each of lamb (羊肉, RMB 26), “elite” beef (精品上脑, RMB 26) and squid (鱿鱼, RMB 28) from the one-sheet menu. When the heavy circular grill was plunked down before us, we were instructed to take one slice of fat and rub it along the hot surface before unceremoniously sliding the raw beef with its cascade of spring onions right on.

The first bites of the marinated meat were tender with a judicious blend of sweet and salty, but we quickly discovered that if you linger too long over your first plate, you face a mound of charred chunks on the brazier. With the lamb and squid, we began to quickly grill all the meat at once, then scoop everything off within minutes. We also learned to scrape and re-oil the grill surface between items.

We ordered smashed cucumbers (排黄瓜, RMB 8), some shaobing (烧饼, RMB 1) and a few bottles of the Beijing soda Beibingyang (RMB 3) to temper our unruly carnivores within. Next time we go back, we’ll want to try the lamb chop (羊排, RMB 32). We might don our rubber bath slippers, just to fit in.

Fankou Lao Beijing Kaorou. Daily 11am-2pm, 5-10pm. Jiaodaokou Beiertiao, Dongcheng District (6400 8125) 饭口老北京烤肉. 东城区交道口北二条

By subway: 600m south of Andingmen station (Line 2)

Click here to see the October issue of the Beijinger in full.

Photo: Judy Zhou